


What's a Candle to a Flame

by MontyKarl



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Birthday Party, M/M, Multi, Nostalgia, One Shot, Other, Polyamory, Song fic, getting old, i wrote tyler's birthday fic early oops, slight jealousy, soft, winter feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-15
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2021-01-31 01:48:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21438187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MontyKarl/pseuds/MontyKarl
Summary: It's Tyler's birthday and they forgot the candles.Soft joshler that hints at polyamory.
Relationships: Jenna Black/Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph, Jenna Black/Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph/Debby Ryan, Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph
Comments: 14
Kudos: 40





	What's a Candle to a Flame

"Hey-."

Tyler's cup splashes flat sprite on Josh's shoulder as he leans in to speak. It catches Josh's attention from the gaze he has on Tyler's new niece, cooing in his sister's arms as Jenna coos back, her hand resting on the soft swell of her belly.

"Sorry." Tyler mumbles, wiping the little bit of drips he could away from Josh's sweater, regardless of the way it's already soaked in. "I was gonna say, my mom forgot candles and I offered to go get them."

"But it's your birthday."

"Come with me then." And then he's gone, to dispose of his half appreciated soda and gather his coat. Jenna glances at Josh, an eyebrow up in question and he just smiles and shrugs before he's standing to get his own jacket, passing Tyler's mother and his brother's wife talking in the kitchen. 

Tyler's out front, the car running, exhaust warming up the dampened snow of the evening, a streetlight down the road comes on as the sun sinks further and josh shivers. The car door impossibly loud as it shuts, the leather seats only barely starting to warm up. Tyler finally got a nice car last summer, getting something with a bigger back seat and more safety features. Josh can't take his eyes off of the lights that are strung every few houses, blues and reds and greens, the only lights in the neighborhood aside from the sparse streetlights. It's barely sundown but with this weather the streets feel like midnight instead of mid-evening. Josh fiddles with the heater, turns the radio on and then turns it down. 

Tyler's fingers reach out as he changes the station for the second time and clasp around Josh's, awkward and badly angled. Tyler's eyes are still straight ahead at the road as he reaches out and places Josh's hand back to his lap, he doesn't let go and Josh suddenly feels like the seat warmers are too high. He uses his free hand to crack his window and Tyler's fingers let go but stay resting on his knee, thumb shushing across the thick material of his jeans. 

Josh realizes Tyler had driven past the closest store and was heading off to the one on the other side of town, taking the longest route, it's something they used to do in the early morning when the weather was like this just because that store had a better cereal selection and they had nothing but time to waste together. He doesn't even have to ask, he just knows. He knows like how his phone lights up and Jenna tells him to not let Tyler do that. He just smiles softly and lets his fingers rest atop the ones on his knee. He tells her they'll be back before dinner is done. They'll be safe. He knows it. He checks his messages and sees that Debby hasn't landed yet, she's got one more change over until she's back in LA and Josh would be on the same route in 2 mores days. 

But today was December 1st and he promised not to miss the party this year. It was a family affair for sure, Tyler had said to keep it small, to keep it simple. He'd said that Josh was the only exception to the family only rule and his mother said she wasn't even going to ask and had already accounted for him. Jenna had baked the cake and had curiously forgot candles, and somehow the stash of years of birthdays in the Joseph residence not a single wax birthday candle could be found. Tyler couldn't not have candles. 

Josh's shoulder was still damp and his feet were cold, the radio distracting softly from the hum of the wheels and passing cars. Josh watched the lighting on Tyler's face come and go and the slushy streets glisten as things began to refreeze. Josh vaguely recognizes the song from sometime in 2013 and can barely remember what all was happening that year in the whirlwind of highways and photo shoots and shows. A hot wave of nostalgia sunk deep into Josh's bones and pulled a lump into his throat just as Tyler pulled his hand away and left Josh's knee freezing cold.

Josh followed Tyler closely into the store, his fingers itching to clasp around the tail of his coat each time they brushed it. Josh's glasses were fogging and Tyler's fingers were blurry as they slipped into josh's coat pocket and Josh couldn't help but shoulder check Tyler playfully as Josh was almost steered into the sliding entrance doors. Tyler withdrew his hand and walked quickly through the aisles, Josh on high alert to see if anyone had recognized them, something he only recently began to worry over. Josh remembers years ago they'd come here and be the only customers, hands clasped, sharing space, pressing kisses to the sides of each others' necks. 

Josh finds Tyler in deep thought on the baking aisle with two packs of candles in his hands.

"So these are black and yellow, but they only have 12 candles or there's this that says 'happy birthday' and gives you numbers to make whatever years old you need, but then you'll have candles left over-"

"Just get the yellow ones and like, these." Josh pulls a 2 off the sliding rack and then pauses before putting it back and grabbing a 3 and then the 1. 

"Wow, way to make me feel old." Tyler smirks but it's soft, Tyler's eyes are well rested for once and yet there are creases at the sides and Josh knows his own mirror the lines of age more and more each day. It terrifies him sometimes but Tyler always says they'll just wear more masks and get him some cables and a harness to do his back flip and Josh let's it go. Jenna never makes either of them feel old, but Debby has a penchant for pretending not to know what landlines are or references to pop culture prior to the year 2000, it's just a joke, but sometimes Josh feels the worry pass through his mind regardless. 

"Sorry." Is all Josh manages to respond as Tyler takes his advice on the candles. For a moment Josh is being stared at and Tyler's eyes look young and mischievous but then he's moving to the self check outs at the front of the store and Josh is back on the lookout for fans. 

Once they're outside, the air is still and cold and snow is starting to fall again, Tyler keeps letting the bag hit Josh's leg and he knows it's on purpose. On the way back to Tyler's parents' house he sees a donut shop they used to love and gets into the left lane to head to it, "You're gonna ruin your dinner."

"It's my birthday and I want an apple spice donut." Josh can't argue, even when he knows it's because Tyler loves the song that's playing on the radio and wants to hear the end. Jenna sends another text asking for an eta. and Josh says 'soon', but Tyler seems to be trying to make him a liar as he pulls up to the window and orders his baked good and then looks over the menu for awhile before adding a strawberry glazed to his order and finally he asks Josh if he wants one too and he declines, but they both know he's going to steal part of Tyler's and later if they're not too full of spaghetti and cake, part of Jenna's too.

They're back on the road and the snow is picking up, cars less frequent than earlier and the sun is completely set now, and Josh can't help but notice how everything on the main streets in town still look the same and Josh feels an ache for how things used to be. He loves Debby and he loves Jenna and they know and they understand and they let Josh have so much more than he should be allotted already and he knows everyone jokes that Tyler is the jealous one, but God, Josh thinks he might be worse. Josh is jealous that Jenna can hold onto Tyler all she wants and that she wears Tyler's ring, that she's starting a new branch of Tyler's family when Josh feels at times excluded. He just misses the times spent awake and laying in a twin bed with Tyler, whispering secrets and plans and jokes until the sun came up. Wrapped up in 4 blankets and Tyler in the midday, waiting for time to get up and get ready for load out on their first big tour. The stolen kisses and teasing from the crew, the way Josh's heart would dare to beat from his chest after a good show found them breathless and flushed in a shared motel room. 

Josh gets distracted by Tyler handing him part of the donut and eats it quietly, watching the snow and lights. He lets a named street sign overwhelm him into remembering a time that they walked it from Tyler's old place to the convenience store around the corner to find it was closed and they were a mess of frozen limbs and chapped lips when they returned home. Josh's knee aches from the thought of walking in this weather but then they're back at Tyler's parents' house and Josh crunches through the snow on the yard and up the porch steps. Tyler is waiting at the top step and there's a hesitation and Josh shivers and he can't tell if it's from the wind or the way Tyler's holding his gaze until he's having his space invaded. The sacks of candles and donuts are dropped as Tyler's hands fist in Josh's coat and he brings their warm lips and cold noses together. Josh's glasses are fogged but he's got his eyes closed, his arms tight around Tyler's waist, his heart aches for the familiar and yet so much different mouth that he's lost in. It's like Tyler had been too shy to act on this before, but Josh knows he just likes to tease, to make him wait, and Josh would gladly wait forever. He'd gladly watch the years pass by and watch the wrinkles deepen and share Tyler with the world if only to get his chance, his moments, his quiet moments where it's like it used to be, before the worry.

The porch light flickers on and Josh is the first to pull away, feeling the spit on his lips immediately start to chill, Tyler's eyes are dark and his cheeks are pink in the harsh light as the door opens, and Tyler's gaze travels to Jenna, standing and trying to look stern, but she knows. Tyler starts laughing at being caught, reverberating through his ribs and into Josh's, tongue between his teeth as he picks up the discarded bags and Jenna lets them in. Tyler pauses to press his lips to hers and Josh pushes away the feeling as he walks into the kitchen. He can hear Jenna getting closer as Tyler walks in behind him, and takes the donut bag from the counter to give it to her and she all smiles and glowing skin and Josh is looking for a pair of scissors to get the plastic wrap off of the candles when he finds a drawer full of candles and a spare torch lighter and starts laughing again. 

Tyler's eyes are staring right at him, and Jenna leaves him a strawberry icing kiss on his cheek as she leaves the kitchen.

Josh's shirt is still damp from earlier, his feet are still cold, and Tyler is still young. He knows this.

**Author's Note:**

> This was heavily inspired by Ribs by Lorde but also Calm Down by Pete Yorn and Young by Vallis Alps and that's just the kind of person I am today.
> 
> I'm j-shler on tumblr and montykarl on discord, feel free to bother me about joshler or jenshler or jebshler related things.


End file.
